Celestron 11084 Omni XLT ? 127

by Celestron

Product Details

• Item Weight: 40 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 50 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000NIKQ4E
• Item model number: 11084
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #85 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Science > Telescopes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The Omni XLT 127 is the latest version of Celestron's popular 5-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, the Celestron C5. Over the years the C5 has earned an excellent reputation because of its portable size, powerful optics, and wonderful versatility. The Omni XLT 127 is packaged with Celestron's upgraded CG-4 equatorial mount. A nice quality 6x30 finder scope, a star diagonal, and a multicoated 25mm eyepiece are included. Also included are a good instruction manual and an introductory version of Software Bisque's "The Sky" astronomy software.

I've owned a C5 for several years and I've been consistently pleased with its optical quality. When the night air is still and clear I can see the Cassini division in Saturn's rings and pick out cloud bands on Saturn itself. I've been able to watch the shadow of Jupiter's moons glide across the planet's cloud tops and sometimes I can actually see one of the moons passing in front of Jupiter. Deep space objects like galaxies and star clusters are fun to observe as well. When I look at bright globular clusters like M13 in the constellation Hercules, I can pick out a number of individual stars. Bright galaxies also begin to reveal their structure; the Sombrero galaxy M104 looks like a spindle flattened on one side, and the Whirlpool galaxy M51 seems to be interacting with its companion galaxy NGC 5195.

The new CG-4 equatorial mount and tripod form a solid base for the Omni XLT 127. The tripod with its 1.75-inch diameter stainless steel legs comes pre-assembled, and the equatorial head attaches easily without tools. I especially like the new dovetail mounting plate because it allows the optical tube to be quickly removed for transport or when I want to use the Omni XLT 127 as a spotting scope.

A few accessories help bring out the versatility of the Omni 127. Celestron's Nine-Piece Accessory Kit includes two plossl eyepieces and a Barlow lens. The 32mm eyepiece produces a magnification of 40x, ideal for viewing star clusters or when using the Omni 127 as a spotting scope. The 12.5mm eyepiece magnifies the image 100 times, just right for viewing globular clusters or the planet Jupiter and its moons. The 2x Barlow can be combined with the 12.5mm eyepiece to zoom in on Saturn's rings at 200x. The other useful accessory is Celestron's 93522 Dual Axis Motor Drive. With the motors installed I was able to use my Celestron NexImage camera to taken some beautiful pictures of the moon and planets.

The SCT design puts the optical power of a fifty-inch-long telescope in a twelve-inch-long tube, but the design has some minor drawbacks. The corrector plate at the front of the telescope is vulnerable to collecting dew on a cool evening, but this can been overcome by adding a dew shield. The other drawback is the large secondary mirror that causes some loss of contrast compared to refractor designs.

Portable, powerful, and versatile; whether it's a first telescope or a portable second scope Celestron's Omni XLT 127 is a great choice for the backyard astronomer. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Portable, powerful, and versatile
• Excellent optics
• Sharp views up to 300x magnification
• Quick no-tool setup
• Also useful as a spotting scope

Cons:

• Motor not included
• SCT design causes some loss of contrast

Suggested accessories:

• 93522 Dual Axis Motor Drive
• Celestron Nine-Piece Accessory Kit
• Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager

Product Description

A premium optical system to explore the universe... The Omni XLT family of telescopes was designed to offer a selection of models with the quality optics and stable platform that serious amateurs can appreciate. The new Omni XLT Series features refractor, reflector and Schmidt-Cassegrain optical designs coupled with the new Omni CG-4 heavy-duty German Equatorial mount and sturdy tripod featuring 1.75" stainless steel legs and center tray for superior rigidity and vibration dampening. Along with the stable platform of the CG-4 mount the Omni XLT series features high quality optics. Using aspheric shaping technology in conjunction with hand-figuring the optics the Omni XLT presents an image with virtually no spherical abberation. Celestron also added the famous StarBright XLT coating system to further enhance light transmission. With superior optics and a stable platform the Omni XLT series is a great choice for astrophotography. Use the optional dual-axis motor drive (#93522) and polar axis finder (#94221) to track objects for long exposure photography. Four aperatures are available in the Omni XLT series, 102mm 120mm 127mm and 150mm, all with Starbright XLT Coatings. Locate and identify thousands of celestial objects on your laptop or PC with "The Sky" Level 1 software included FREE with every Omni XLT model. The series features a Tall finderscope mount for easier viewing through finderscope. Machined focus knobs for fine tuning fo